Haiden Uhrig (11), a wide receiver,
plays the National Anthem
on his own Senior Night before
the game. (Photos by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
Quarterback Emerson Rota, coming back from a broken collarbone in the fall game, completed a 36-yard pass play to Nico Bardaro to overcome a four-point lead by San Diego High late in the game and give La Jolla an exhausting victory on an emotional Senior Night Fri., Oct. 17.
Rota, a lefthanded junior, had not started a football game at quarterback since he played for the Viking freshman team two years ago. He had shifted over to playing defense before his injury.
La Jolla coach Tyler Roach shifted Emerson into the QB role, since he was now recovered and maybe presented a better passing option than Ty Tortorice, a freshman who had done an admirable job filling in for injured starting QB Huddy Smith this season.
The Cavers, who came in with a 5-2 record but who in early going didn't appear to have overwhelming talent, stuck to it under coach Syd Reed and didn't give in, scoring a go-ahead touchdown from sophomore QB Jayden Harris to Dominick Espalin to take a 33-29 lead with short time remaining.
Collin Rugg, a star quarterback for the Vikings in the Class of 2015 who set a then-record for passing touchdowns with 45, looked on approvingly from the sidelines. He had coached Rota as a freshman a pair of years ago.
SDHS QB Jayden Harris (obscured in back)
completes a four-yard pass to receiver
R'monderick Armstrong (14) against
heavy pressure from Viking Dylan
Haugum (52) midway through the second
quarter with La Jolla leading, 14-5.
The game, which followed a lengthy Senior Night presentation of 12th-grade Viking football players and cheerleaders, was delayed 24 minutes in the first quarter on an injury timeout. A Caver lay on the field while trainers applied a brace for a dislocated left shoulder. An ambulance that was called didn't arrive until almost half an hour after play was stopped with 4:17 on the clock in the opening period. The score was 2-0, San Diego, on a safety against an inexperienced Rota in the end zone.
Bardaro had a spectacular game on both sides of the ball, as did linebacker Taylor Jeffery, a senior who played his heart out and was in on many tackles and tackled-for-loss (TFL's) plays against Harris.
La Jolla led 14-2 after the first quarter, which didn't end until 8:10 p.m. with the delay, then 22-12 at halftime, which began at 9:00 p.m. From then on, the contest was topsy-turvy, with the two teams delivering blows and trading leads in the late going.
Officials tried to keep a tight rein on the game, throwing flags, it seems, almost constantly on any near infraction of sportsmanship.
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